Champion said parents are just beginning to acknowledge what she calls the “dark side of autism,” their children’s capacity for aggression when they are frustrated, angry or overstimulated. Her son recently hit his attendant and attacked his father in front of a movie theater. Other parents describe scary episodes of biting, kicking and hitting.

It’s not easy to talk about children lashing out, Champion said. But it’s necessary because many are getting older and bigger and yearn for more independence, which leads to private struggles becoming public.

[…]

“Everyone is like, ‘Oh my God, that is my son,’ ” said Ann Gibbons of the advocacy group Autism Speaks. She said the case calls attention to two crucial issues: “How do we protect the community, and how do we protect the impaired individual?”

[…]

Stafford prosecutor Eric Olsen maintains that Latson didn’t assault the deputy because of his Asperger’s but because of “his violent tendencies.” But advocates for people with autism fear that Latson’s case represents a scenario that will become increasingly common in years to come.

[…]

Ann Worley of Springfield has a scar on her cheek where her son David bit her. When he was younger, David would take out his frustrations on himself, she said, but now he is 18, 6-foot-2 and 360 pounds, and he lashes outward.

“There was a time last September, I actually locked myself in the bathroom,” Worley said. “I was scared. I thought I was going to have to call the police.”